by Jim Taylor
(some of the data in this article may be dated, since the article was
originally written in 1996)

THE
MODEL 1894

Since its inception, the Model 1894 Winchester has enjoyed
wide acceptance with the shooting public. Hailed in its day as a
flat-shooting, high velocity rifle, the '94 and its famous cartridge, the
.30 WCF (more popularly known as a "thutty-thutty" in my part of the
country) packed a lot of punch into a small package. And as originally
loaded with a 165 gr. softpoint bullet at an advertised velocity of 1970
fps, it was a high velocity round, especially when compared to most of the
other caliber's available at the time.

While it
was produced in .32 Special (and in other calibers these last few years)
the Model 94 is best known in .30 WCF (.30-30 Winchester) caliber.
And when someone says, "30-30" it's usually the Model 94 that
comes to mind, even though many other guns including bolt action rifles,
single shot rifles, and several types of handguns have been made in this
caliber. Nevertheless, the Winchester 1894 is probably the best
known.

The
rifle itself is a classic. Norm Flayderman (FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE
FIREARMS AND THEIR VALUES ) said it was "....a specimen of ultimate
perfection in a lever action rifle..." (page 263) It does have appeal, for
since it's introduction over 103 years ago there have been millions
produced. I spoke with Becky Costello at U.S. Repeating Arms who told me
their records indicate over 7 million Model 94's had rolled out of the
Winchester plant. When you add that number to all the Marlin and Mossberg
leverguns, plus all the single shot and bolt-action rifles in this
caliber, there are a lot of .30-30's out there somewhere.

Ammunition is not in short supply for the old-timer either.
I counted up 18 different loadings offered by 6 different ammo companies.
Bullet weights from 55 gr. up through 170 gr. are offered by the various
manufacturers. (see Chart #1) And while the ballistics of the .30-30 may
not excite the modern generation of riflemen, in real life these have been
proven more than adequate in the hands of someone who knows when and how
to shoot. As Paco Kelly writes "...the .30-30's power is equal to the
pre-Second World War 7/57 mm cartridge...with it's initial mild
ballistics. And Bell, a well known African professional hunter, killed
many elephants with the 7/57mm....somewhere over a thousand!.....of course
it is not the power here, but the bullet. With the right bullet, in the
hands of a professional....old jumbo can be put down. No one advocates it
of course. It is just said to show the potential of this (the .30-30)
round." [ from LEVERGUNS, page 93]

BRUSH
GUN

I have long known the .30-30 as a great rifle, being raised
by my Dad to believe that it was a good hunting gun (contrary to some
today). He never told me it was a "short-ranged, underpowered brush
gun". In fact he raised me to believe just the
opposite.

Back in the 1980's I guided him
on a Mule Deer hunt. He was using his old worn Marlin 336 with
handloads concocted between him and Paco. We climbed over the
mountains and up into a ridge overlooking a valley where the Mule Deer
loved to feed. Sure enough, there was a herd of about 25 or 30
feeding in that little valley.

We made a stand on the top of the ridge and Dad got set
up. Watching the deer we could see they were feeding slowly in our
direction. then, after 15 minutes or so they began to move off toward the
North and I told Dad, "You better take one. They are moving away
from us." He asked which one he should shoot, since I had the
binoculars trained on the deer. I told him the one directly in front
of him by the large outcropping.

Dad looked through the receiver sight, squeezed the trigger
and I saw the deer stand up on it's hind legs and fall over backwards,
then heard a flat "WHOP" of the bullet strike. I told him, "Now
shoot the one underneath that one!"

Dad levered in another shell, looked through the sights and
fired again. That deer took 3 or 4 hops and collapsed.

Two shots - Two deer down .. and the distance was well over
200 yards. That's some work for a "short-range brush gun"!

FACTORY
LOADS

Just for fun I chronographed some factory loads out of the Model 94
for comparison to what the factories list their loads at. None reached
their advertised velocity, though to be fair, most factory listings are
computed out of a test barrel. And velocities do vary a quite a bit between
firearms. One thing I know for sure, no matter the velocity, most of these
loads work! And in the end that is what counts.

30-30
Winchester Factory Loads

Manufacturer

Load

Advertised
Velocity

Chronographed
Velocity

Federal

125 gr. JHP

2570 fps.

2362 fps

Federal

150 gr. Hi-Shok soft point

2390 fps.

Federal

170 gr. Hi-Shok soft point

2200 fps

Federal

170 gr. Nosler Partition

2200 fps

2051 fps

Hornady

150 gr. round nose

2250 fps

Hornady

170 gr. flat point

2190 fps

Norma

150 gr. soft point flat nose

2329 fps

Norma

170 gr. soft point flat nose

2133 fps

Remington

55 gr. Accelerator

3400 fps

3256 fps

Remington

150 gr. soft point Core Lokt

2390 fps

Remington

170 gr. soft point Core Lokt

2200 fps

Remington

170 gr. core Lokt JPH

2200 fps

Winchester

150 gr. JHP

2390 fps

2221 fps

Winchester

150 gr. Power Point

2390 fps

2248 fps

Winchester

150 gr. Silvertip

2390 fps

Winchester

170 gr. Power Point

2200 fps

Winchester

170 gr. Silvertip

2200 fps

2066 fps

Speer

150 gr. Nitrex

2370 fps

2168 fps

Groups fired with Factory loads from Model 94 Winchester, using a rolled-up
carpet on the hood of my 4WD for a rest, all with open sights. All are
3-shot groups.

50 yards

Remington 55 gr. Accelerator

1"

Federal 125 gr. JHP

11/16"

Federal 170 gr. Nosler Partition

1 7/16"

Winchester 150 gr. JHP

1 1/4"

Winchester 150 gr. Power Point

2"

Winchester 170 gr. Silvertip

5/8"

110 yards

Remington 55 gr. Accelerator

3 1/8"

Federal 125 gr. JHP

3 3/16"

Federal 170 gr. Nosler Partition

3 3/16"

Speer 150 gr. Nitrex

3 9/16"

Winchester 150 gr. JHP

4 3/8"

Winchester 150 gr. Power Point

3 1/8"

Winchester 170 gr. Silvertip

2 3/4"

The
smallest group recorded at 110 yards was with the Winchester 170 gr.
Silvertip: 1.25"

PENETRATION TEST

I also fired some of the
Factory loads through the leg bones of a 940 pound steer we
had recently butchered. I set the leg bones on a stump with 8 layers of
carpet behind the bones and a 2" thick solid oak door as a backstop. I
wanted to see what the bullets looked like after going through the bones
and carpet but before they hit the door so I added a piece of cardboard
between the carpet and the door. All loads went through the leg bones,
carpeting and into the door.

The
125 gr. Federal JHP literally blew the bones to pieces with chunks raining
down in the yard, landing up to 20 feet away. The best penetrators were
the 170 gr. Winchester Silvertip and the Federal 170 gr. Nosler Partition
loadings. Very interesting was the fact that neither one of
the heavyweights retained the most weight after going through everything.
The 150 gr. Winchester Power Point retained the most weight and came in a
close 3rd in penetration. By the time I received the Speer Nitrex 150 gr.
loadings the bones were long gone. However I did some limited testing
against 150 gr. loadings from other manufacturers and found the new Speer
load to hold up well. From what little testing I did I would say the
Nitrex bullet will hold together pretty well. Accuracy is on par with the
others.

Bullets fired from 15 feet through the leg bones of a
940-pound steer, through 8 layers of carpet, into a solid oak door. All
bullet depths measured to the base of the bullet in the door.

During the testing of the
Factory loads we fired some of the lightweight loadings including the Remington
Accelerator. This is a .22 caliber 55 gr. bullet in a plastic sabot.
Advertised at 3400 fps, this load ran somewhat over 3200 fps out of my
gun. It was hot enough to punch a nice clean hole in a piece of 3/8" steel. While they were interesting I did not do much else with
them. I think they might be useful for the person who has only one rifle
and wants to expand the use of it to blowing holes in coyotes or other
varmints. I know they work on smaller animals for I once guided a friend's
wife on a Javelina hunt. She used an old Model 94 Winchester and the
Remington Accelerator loads to take a nice Javelina from about 100 yards.
It worked just fine, creating massive internal damage in the chest cavity.

HANDLOADS

Handloading ammunition for the Model 94 lever action rifle requires some special
consideration. For example, shells should be full-length sized before
reloading. This is due in part to the fact that the lever action does not
have the "camming" power of a bolt action rifle. In a bolt action you can
quite often simply size the neck of the cartridge. But for good
functioning the cartridges used in the levergun should be full-length
sized.

Overall though, the grand old .30-30 lends itself to reloading very nicely.
Designed in an era that did not demand thick case walls, with a nicely
sloping shoulder and easily sized neck, the .30-30 Winchester cartridge is one of
the better rifle cartridges for the shooter who likes to reload.

Loading
dies are readily available from all the major manufacturers in either
2-die or 3-die sets. The 2-die set performs the depriming, sizing and
neck-expanding in one die, while the 3-die sets have a separate neck
expanding die requiring one extra step in the reloading process. The 3-die
sets are preferable if you are reloading cast bullets, while with jacketed
bullets either type of dies will work well.

The magazine on the levergun requires
the use of flat-nose bullets. (Yes, there are some round-nose bullets in
use. These usually have a generous round nose.) The nose of each bullet
rests smack against the primer of the cartridge in front of it in the
magazine. With spitzer (pointed-nose) bullets, recoil is said to set off
the cartridges in the magazine, creating a serious hazard to whoever is
holding the firearm. Whether the gun recoils enough to do this is argued
among some devotees of the levergun. If you work the lever to feed a shell
into the chamber you will notice that the shells in the magazine jump
rearward rather violently. Some feel this is what has been responsible for
magazine blowups. Whatever reason it may be, the use of blunt bullets is a
must.

CRIMP

Another distinctive feature is that the bullets should be crimped
in cartridges intended for lever action rifles. This is due mainly to
the magazine arrangement. Six or seven cartridges stacked in front of each
other in a tube magazine tends to amount to considerable weight. Under
recoil bullets that are not crimped in their shells can be driven back
into the neck of the cartridge creating dangerous pressure problems, not
to mention feeding problems.

To crimp the bullets the best tool by far
is the Factory Crimp Die by Lee Precision. (http://www.leeprecision.com/ )
This die is collet-type die that can provide the tightest crimp possible
without buckling the case walls. I have used it in cases as thin as the
.32-20 with great results. For those of you who shoot .44-40 or .38-40
firearms the Lee die is THE DIE to use. The crimp holds the bullet firmly
and will not allow the pressure of loading numerous rounds into the
magazine - nor the recoil - to drive the bullet back into the case. And
you can make a very heavy crimp without buckling the case neck wall just
below the bullet. I do not know how the Factory Crimp dies work in other
firearms, but in leverguns where bullets must be crimped in the cartridge
case this is THE TOOL!

TRIM

During firing tests I rediscovered what long-time users of
the .30-30 have known for years. The cases grow longer with each firing.
With the long tapered cartridge and gentle neck of the .30-30 this is
exaggerated somewhat. It is said the action of the rifle contributes to
this also. I found myself trimming the cases every 3 or 4
reloads. I used the RCBS "Case Trim Pro 3-Way
Cutter" to trim, chamfer and deburr the cases in one operation. This
little tool really speeded up work that I had been previously doing by
hand.

If you reload the same cases a lot, you will need to inspect them
carefully as in time they will weaken near the solid head due to the brass
flowing forward. Of course, the higher pressure loads make case growth
more of a problem also. For practice and plinking keep the loads on the
light side and your cases will last longer.

BULLETS

Components for the .30-30 are available
from all major suppliers. Winchester, Speer, Sierra, Hornady, Nosler and Barnes all offer
plenty of components. Bullet weights run from 110 gr. to 170 gr. in
several styles including roundnose, flat-point and hollow-point. I even
shot some of the Sierra 180 gr. roundnose that are intended for use in the
.30-40 Krag. I did not test them to see if they would "chain-fire" in the
magazine. If you decide to use these limit yourself to 2 shots... one in
the magazine and one in the chamber. No use taking a chance on
wrecking a good gun, let alone wrecking yourself. Barnes even offers
bullets for the .30-30 in
it's "X-Bullet" - a totally solid copper bullet with and expansion cavity
in the nose. These should be tremendous where penetration is required.
However, there are some special requirements for reloading the Barnes
bullet. Be sure and consult the Barnes Reloading Manual before you reload
with them. In fact, it is a good idea to take careful notice of what the
reloading manuals say about reloading a particular caliber before you
begin any reloading chore.

Winchester Silvertips..
one of my favorites in the .30-30
and no longer available as a reloading component!

LOADING
MANUALS

Taking my own advice, before I began reloading
the .30-30 I consulted all the reloading manuals and books that I had on
hand. I found a lot of information. For instance using the 170 gr.
jacketed bullet and IMR 3031 powder, my reloading
manuals showed this data:

Source

Listed
Velocity

IDEAL RELOADING MANUAL
#40

33.5 gr.= 2300 fps

LYMAN RELOADING MANUAL #45

28.5 gr.= 2110 fps

SPEER RELOADING MANUAL
#8

31.0 gr.= 2198 fps

SPEER RELOADING MANUAL #12

29.5 gr.= 1975 fps

NRA HANDLOADING

30.0 gr. =2177 fps

HORNADY HANDBOOK 4th EDITION

28.5 gr. 2100 fps

NOSLER RELOADING MANUAL
#3

30.0 gr.= 2170 fps

SIERRA RELOADING MANUAL #3

29.8 gr. =2150
fps

The variation in data can be confusing until you look at the
bullets used, the rifles used, cartridge case type, primers, etc. As an
example, some of the loads listed above were fired from a Model 94
Winchester, some from a Remington 788 and some from a test barrel, all
using different brands and styles of bullets and primers.

For my own purposes - and I
am not recommending you do this, this is just MY way of doing it - I
looked at all the powder charges and discarded the heaviest one. The
remaining 7 were averaged, giving me an overall average of 29.6 grains. I
reduced that by 3 grains ( 10% of the total) and that gave me the place
where I started to work up my loads in the rifle - 26.6 grains of 3031.

Coincidentally this just happens to fall near the suggested starting
charges in most of the manuals. If you have but one or two manuals to
consult I would suggest that you might think about obtaining the "ONE
BOOK/ONE CALIBER" reloading manual from MIDWAY (http://www.midwayusa.com/ ) Available
in almost all the popular calibers, these books combine the information on
that particular caliber from US bullet and powder makers. The One Book/One Caliber manual for the .30-30 Winchester has reloading
data from Accurate Arms, Hercules, Hodgdon, Hornady, IMR, Lyman, Nosler,
RCBS, Scott, Sierra, Speer and Winchester. This makes it real handy to
research loading data for the particular gun and caliber you are going to
reload for.

Recorded velocities of handloads. All fired from a Model 94
Winchester, 15 feet from the muzzle to the first screen. All loads using
CCI Large Rifle Primers. All assembled in WW cases, all bullets crimped
with a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Bullet: Winchester 170 gr. Silvertip

Powder: IMR 3031

Powder: Winchester 748

Powder: H-335

26 gr. -- 1755 fps

30 gr. -- 1848 fps

32 gr. -- 2071 fps

28 gr. -- 1909 fps

32 gr. -- 2054 fps

33 gr. -- 2123 fps

30 gr. -- 2041 fps

33 gr. -- 2087 fps

34 gr. -- 2195 fps

Bullet: Speer 170 gr. flat point

Powder: IMR 3031

Powder: Winchester 748

Powder: H-335

26 gr. -- 1730 fps

30 gr. -- 1834 fps

32 gr. -- 2038 fps

28 gr. -- 1892 fps

32 gr. -- 2039 fps

33 gr. -- 2061 fps

30 gr. -- 2020 fps

34 gr. 2129 fps

34 gr. -- 2099 fps

Bullet: Speer 150 gr. flat point

Powder: IMR 3031

Powder: Winchester 748

Powder: H-335

33 gr. -- 2290 fps

34 gr. -- 2080 fps

32 gr. -- 2068 fps

34 gr. -- 2290 fps

36 gr. -- 2198 fps

34 gr. -- 2202 fps

37 gr. -- 2246 fps

35 gr. -- 2265 fps

Bullet: Sierra 150 gr. flat point

Powder: IMR 3031

Powder: Winchester 748

Powder: H-335

30 gr. -- 1861 fps

32 gr. -- 1968 fps

32 gr. -- 2071 fps

32 gr. -- 2248 fps

34 gr. -- 2061 fps

34 gr. -- 2183 fps

33 gr. -- 2352 fps

36 gr. -- 2170 fps

35 gr. -- 2233 fps

Bullet: Speer 130 gr. flat point

Powder: IMR 3031

Powder: Winchester 748

Powder: H-335

33 gr. -- 2284 fps

36 gr. -- 2197 fps

36 gr. -- 2346 fps

34 gr. -- 2341 fps

37 gr. -- 2359 fps

37 gr. -- 2424 fps

35 gr. -- 2470 fps

38 gr. -- 2466 fps

Bullet: Sierra 180 gr. roundnose - seated 2.5" loaded
length

Note: These have NOT been tested to see if they are safe to
use in the magazine of a lever action rifle.I fired them single-shot,
loading one at a time in the chamber.

Powder: IMR 3031

Powder: Winchester 748

Powder: H-335

25 gr. -- 1752 fps

30 gr. -- 1836 fps

28 gr. -- 1879 fps

26 gr. -- 1767 fps

31 gr. -- 1903 fps

29 gr. -- 1903 fps

27.3 gr. -- 1903 fps

32 gr. -- 1977 fps

29.5 gr. -- 1931 fps

CAST
BULLETS

When
it came to my first love - cast bullets - the old .30 WCF really shines!
The cartridge case is ideal for cast bullet use. As Jim Carmichel in THE
ART OF BULLET CASTING said, "....another feature of the .30-30 is the
thin, elastic neck walls which allow distortion-free bullet seating
without the use of special neck expanding equipment." (page 206) As for
powder charges, with cast bullets you can basically use the same data as
you would for jacketed bullets of the same weight. This is one of a select
few rifles of the smokeless powder era that really likes cast
bullets.

Before I began shooting cast bullets I decided to clean the
barrel and remove all traces of copper fouling. To get it absolutely clean
I tried using the Outers electro-chemical cleaner called the "Foul-Out
II". While the cleaner worked extremely well for me, let me warn you that
you cannot plug this thing in and let it clean your gun while you sit and
watch TV.

The
"Foul-Out II" works as a reverse electro-plating process. The copper that
is on the bore is removed and is plated onto a stainless steel rod that is
part of the unit. Instructions with the unit must be carefully followed or
you can ruin your barrel.

First
the barrel was thoroughly cleaned and degreased. Since leverguns must be
cleaned from the muzzle (unless you take them completely apart), I used a
muzzle protector to keep the cleaning rod from wearing any of the rifling
or muzzle away. Made from a 7 mm case, it is inserted into the rifle
muzzle and the cleaning rod then inserted in through it.

Once
the barrel was cleaned and degreased I made a stand to hold the rifle
upright. plugged the bore with the inserts provided, poured in the
chemicals, inserted the rod, hooked up the wires and turned it on. I let
it run 10 minutes and then shut it down and pulled the rod out of the
barrel. I found that the rod had some copper fouling on it already!
Everything looked fine so I re-inserted the rod and let it run for an
hour. When I pulled the rod out at the end of the hour I found that the
bottom 3 inches of it had turned black. I poured the solution out of the
barrel into a clean glass jar and found that it had turned yellow. The
instruction book that came with the "Foul-Out II" said this was a sign of
rust in the bore. The solution had to be disposed of. If I continued using
it the unit would begin to pull steel off of the bore and to plate it onto
the rod! The barrel had to be cleaned and degreased again also. And all
the copper on the stainless steel rod had to be sanded off. After all that
was accomplished I started the process over. After I got it started again
I let the unit run for another hour, then pulled the rod out and checked
it. There was more copper fouling on it but there were no signs of rust or
any other problem. I let it run for 2 hours and then pulled the rod again.
This time it was black on the end nearest the chamber. And there was
copper fouling on it in various places. I cleaned the barrel and the rod,
replaced the solution and started over. At the end of another hour I
pulled the rod and found heavy copper fouling. I cleaned the rod and began
again. Two hours later I shut it down and pulled the rod from the barrel
to find more rust along with some copper fouling. The bore was cleaned and
degreased as was the rod. I replaced the solution and started the machine
up again. A little over a half hour later the "CLEAN" light came on. I
pulled it all apart and found it was indeed clean. After nearly 8 hours of
running the electro-chemical cleaner plus the time spent scrubbing and
degreasing the bore the barrel was as clean as the day it was made, or
nearly so. The rust the unit pulled out seemed to be small pits underneath
copper fouling. It has not hurt the accuracy of the rifle as far as I can
tell. While it may be a lot of work, it is about the easiest way I know of
to get a barrel back close to its pre-fired condition.

I did
not do a lot of experimenting with different bullets. My goal was a large
bullet at moderate velocities as I have said before. I did shoot some of
RCBS #32-098-SWC 100 gr. flat-point bullets I use in the .32-20. These
were fired mainly to foul the bore. The barrel, after it was cleaned, did
not shoot well until over 100 rounds were fired through it.. At first the
groups "walked" around the target. The 100 gr. RCBS bullets were fired
using 8 gr. of Unique. I also fired some of the Lee 170 gr. roundnose
bullets with various powder charges. When the barrel began to settle down
I switched to the RCBS #30-180-FN. This bullet casts right at 190 gr. out
of my mold when I use wheelweight alloy. I cast the bullets from an
extremely hot mold and drop them directly into water from the mold. These
water-quenched bullets reach a hardness of 16 to 18 BHN after 24 hours. I
use Hornady gas-checks on the bases.

The
bullets are "sized" in a .311" die. Really, all it does is seat the
gas-check and lube the bullet since they drop from the mold at .310".
While the barrel is nominally a .308" I found the .310" size to work well.
All the old loading books recommend .311" for the .30 caliber rifles. The
IDEAL HANDBOOK #34 ( from 1940) says to size cast bullets at .311" for
everything from the .30-30 to the .300 Magnum. I did try sizing some to
.308" and found no difference in accuracy from the .311" size with the
loads I settled on. For the extra work there was no gain. Why do it? All
bullets were lubed with Apache Blue bullet lube.

RCBS 30-180-FN

Once
I found an accurate load I searched no further. My criteria was a load
that would shoot the 190 gr. RCBS bullet at over 1500 fps and keep 3 shots
under 1" at 50 yards. This is power and accuracy sufficient for anything
up through deer, at least in this part of the country. After some testing
I settled on 26 gr. of H335. This load gives near 1800 fps and if I do my
part will stay under 2" at 100 yards. (see Chart #6) I fired some of these
loads on the 200 yard range and found they would take the ram silhouette
down easily. Accuracy was good enough for the 150 yard turkey also. I had
an old cow that had gotten down and I used this load to end her suffering.
I shot her from about 50 feet, angling down into her forehead. The bullet
penetrated through the skull, ranged down the neck destroying the spinal
column and ended up somewhere in her brisket. I was impressed with the
penetration.

Since
I started using cast bullets my .30-30 has not had a jacketed bullet
through it. The cast bullets do everything that I want to do with this
gun, at least for now. What more could you want? For my needs anyhow, the
Model 94 and the .30 WCF cartridge are a good combination.

CAST
BULLET LOADS

All loads assembled in WW cases with CCI Large Rifle
primers, all with RCBS #30-180-FN cast bullet sized .311" and using
Hornady gas checks - all lubed with Apache Blue. All chronographed at 15
feet from the muzzle to the first screen, all groups fired at 50 yards
from a rest.